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HRH Prince Constantin Joël Piers
HRH Prince Constantin Joël Piers (b. 2877 - d. 2913) was the second child and eldest son of HRH Crown Princess Sophie Irène. Although recognised as a talented musician from a young age, Constantin fell victim to drug abuse, and became infamous for mixing in criminal circles. Although the family did best to cover up most of his behaviour, following his arrest on involuntary manslaughter charges the Prince fled the country to escape trial. Early Life HRH Prince Constantin Joël Piers de Villiers et Orléans-Vasser was born in March 2877 whilst his mother was acting as Goodwill Ambassador to the government of Kazulia, and hence was born in the Kazulian capital of Skalm. The Prince was named Constantin in honour of his godfather, Constantin Thorbjørn Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Kazulia and a close friend of his mother. A reserved but pleasant child, Constantin was adored by his mother, and was widely revered as an attractive and charming young prince. He was raised in Kazulia for the first year of his life, but moved to Kanjor when his mother re-located. The young Constantin often felt wary of his older sister, and rarely spent time in her company. As he matured he grew closer to his sister, yet she often dominated him because of his more timid nature. Education Like most of his family, Constantin was tutored until the age of 5, receiving tutelage from both Kanjorien and Kazulian scholars. His mother felt fluency in foreign languages was essential, and subsequently he was raised bilingual in both Kanjorien and Kazulian. Unusually he never developed an entirely natural Kanjorien accent, and hence spoke the language with a slightly Kazulian twang. This gave him an edge of severity and sobriety, and made him appear older than he in fact was. Recognised from a young age as musically gifted, Constantin studied at the Conservatoire royal de Musique, becoming a talented violinist and cellist, as well as pianist. The elite institution acquainted him with some of his closest friends in later life, including [[Faruq Depois|'Faruq Depois']], heir to Gloire Technologies. At the Conservatoire, Faruq introduced Constantin to drugs after the Prince broke down in tears due to constant media exposure and feelings of insecurity. Faruq claimed the drugs would give him confidence, and Constantin subsequently became addicted for the remainder of his years at the Conservatoire. Although enrolling in the Séries académique, Constantin's poor classwork and increasingly hostile attitude towards those around him prompted his teachers to move him to the Séries générales. In response, Constantin walked out on the Conservatoire, instead going on a four day binge in Atyr where he lost contact from all of his family. When the police found the missing Prince, he was removed from the Conservatoire, going into home schooling and passing his Baccalauréat artistique by correspondence. It was at this time that Constantin wrote his first opera, La misère de vie, a serialist piece fifty minutes long which received a mixed reception at its debut. University Constantin applied and was accepted to the École Centrale de Martois with Faruq Cyrille; the two had formed an inseperable bond, and continued to engage in their past activities. Constantin registered to study Music and Theatre Studies, while Faruq enrolled in Musicology. At university, Constantin became addicted to heroin, and engaged in the throwing of orgies at his university apartment, much to the embarrassment of his family. Although they did their best to cover over his activities, the Prince became a tabloid phenomenon, made even more infamous for his assault of a member of the paparazzi. Under pressure, the paparazzi dropped the charges, yet the Prince received even greater criticism for being allowed off the hook due to his family position. In a widely-lauded interview with Féroce, his mother Princess Sophie urged her son to "return to the righteous path" and realise that she loved him. Despite her best efforts, the article did the opposite of its intended effect, causing the Prince to feel guilty and even more self-loathing. He went missing again, this time found a month later in a brothel in Aloria. After months of mounting pressure, Constantin was expelled from the École Centrale. Criminal Activities As well as his involvement in the drugs trade, Prince Constantin was nefarious for his involvement in the trafficking of prostitutes into Kanjor, using his family's political contacts to his advantage. The Prince reportedly had the pull of politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, and was involved in illegal gambling. Arrest and Exile Whilst hosting a drugs-fuelled beachparty in Atyr, Faruq Depois was found dead in a swimming pool; the coroner diagnosed he had died from a heroin overdose. The loss of his closest friend prompted the Prince to fly into a deep depression, and whilst driving over the speed limit at night Constantin knocked down a man and his son while they were crossing the road from their house. A passing policeman found and arrested the weeping Prince, and he was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of the pair while driving over the limit under the influence of drugs. His sister Princess Rachel came forward with his punitive bail money while he awaited trial. After spending a couple of days with his sister, Constantin was reported missing; apparently he had skipped the country rather than face trial. The Prince spent the remainder of his years in hiding in Keymon, attempting to forge a new life for himself, yet never achieving success in breaking his drugs habit. He continued to write music under a pseudonym, yet most of his work was published posthumously. His greatest work, L'Indignité d'Isolement, was received to great critical acclaim during his lifetime, however was not revealed to be written by him until after his death. It received the patronage of sister, Princess Rachel, and its overture was performed at her funeral. Death In 2913, at the age of 36, the Prince was announced dead, having died of a drugs overdose made up of heroin and cocaine. He had never returned to Kanjor, and was found by his dealer after two weeks. Personal Life Constantin was raised bilingual, and subsequently spoke fluent Kanjorien and Kazulian. Like his mother, Constantin suffered from depression and annorexia. First diagnosed at the age of 10, Constantin refused treatment, yet was temporarily sectioned into a Psychiatric Hospital for a month whilst studying for his Bac. Constantin never married, and was unfoundedly accused by gay magazine Vandale to be in a relationship with Faruq Depois due to the closeness and intensity of their friendship. Faruq's sexuality was something of a known secret, yet due to his father's social conservatism he married his cousin, with whom had one son. Rumours of a relationship between the two was however strongly refuted by close friends of both the Prince and Faruq, who claimed Constantin "was only interested in women, very much so". The Prince himself never commented on his sexuality, yet his private poetry shows a general ambivalence towards relationships, preferring unemotional sex. Unlike most of his family, Constantin never took to any sports, yet was a gifted violinist, cellist and pianist. He was also a talented singer, having played in rock bands while at school and university. An unrealeased demo of his band Fraternité was released posthumously, topping the Kanjorien Albums Chart. Amongst the Kanjorien youth, the Prince, despite his Royal bloodline, is widely seen as an anti-establishment figure and pin-up for many angsty teenagers. His private poetry collection, also published posthumously, was awarded the Insigne international d'Ecriture d'Excellence, one of the most prestigious writing awards in the world. Modern re-evaluations of both Constantin's music and poetry has ensured he lives on as an important figure in the cultural world.